@ZurichGnome said:

He was not exactly beloved by his colleagues, as he had a nasty habit of playing tasteless practical jokes on people, sometimes physically painful ones.

After becoming a dog breeder and hunting guide when acting roles sort of dried up, he got into a dispute with a client over a supposed debt. The dispute turned physical, and Switzer ended up getting shot and bleeding to death. The shooting was ruled self-defense, but there has since been some question about whether that conclusion was warranted.

Here is an article from Wiki (it includes the controversy about his death):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_%22Alfalfa%22_Switzer#Death

Here's a post I made a long time ago to the old Support/General forum when I couldn't figure out how to navigate the site easily and didn't see this page. (I have now deleted the old post over there.) It is a longer post than Zürich Gnome's, and includes a closing description of Carl's older brother's violent streak and subsequent suicide:

SUBJECT: Obnoxious, and died young of justifiable homicide posted by PT 100 on June 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM

Although many recall him fondly as "Alfalfa" of Our Gang fame, in real life he was a trouble-maker, and he often pulled tasteless pranks on other people in the cast and members of the crew. But on January 21, 1959, the chickens finally came home to roost. I still remember seeing the article in the newspaper:

Besides acting, Switzer bred and trained hunting dogs and guided hunting expeditions. He confronted a business associate over $50 that Switzer felt the man owed him. At the man's home Switzer threatened him with a knife, but the man pulled a gun and shot him. Switzer bled to death before the ambulance could get him to the hospital. One witness felt that the shooting was unnecessary, but the court decided that the killer acted justifiably.

Nine years later, Switzer's older brother, Harold, who also had a temper, and who operated a Speed Queen Company franchise, installing and servicing washers and dryers, killed a customer over a dispute. Switzer then drove himself to a remote area near Glendale, California, and committed suicide.